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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-17489

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects Circularity Scotland to produce a short-form version of the Deposit Return Scheme Producer Agreement.

Question reference: S6W-17389

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to registered drinks producers that are liable for advance payments under section 8.5 of the Deposit Return Scheme Producer Agreement.

As Circularity Scotland is a private company, support arrangements they have with their members is a matter for them and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in such commercial arrangements between private companies. Only the very largest producers (those making more than 10 million units per year) are required to underwrite costs. We are grateful to all businesses for the investment they have made in preparing for the launch of the deposit return scheme and this investment will be important for the success of the scheme when it launches on 1 March.

Question reference: S6W-17388

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 10 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether registered drinks producers are currently liable to make advance payments to Circularity Scotland under section 8.5 of the Producer Agreement, in light of the Deposit Return Scheme launch being postponed until 1 March 2024.

Circularity Scotland advise that only the very largest producers (those making more than 10 million units per year) are required to underwrite costs. As Circularity Scotland is a private company, contractual arrangements they have with their members, including any payments as part of their producer agreement, is a matter for them and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in such commercial arrangements between private companies.

Question reference: S6W-17487

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-02060 by Màiri McAllan on 23 March 2023, whether any of the investment mentioned will address pharmaceutical contamination.

Investment underpinning Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Routemap does not specifically target the issue of pharmaceutical pollution. However, in partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Water is carrying out the Chemical Investigation Programme (CIP) Scotland which involves sampling for priority substances of emerging concern; pharmaceuticals are considered to be substances of emerging concern. The current phase of the programme involves a process optimisation trial at Wastewater Treatment Works that aims to help improve understanding of whether better treatment can be achieved at Scottish Water’s assets.

Scottish Water is also a member of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership (OHBP – www.ohbp.org ) which is funded by the Scottish Government and brings together key stakeholders across the water, environment, and healthcare sectors who are committed to addressing pharmaceutical pollution in the environment through source control. The partnership is looking to develop sustainable “up-stream” solutions to minimise pharmaceuticals entering wastewater and surface water, and reduce the environmental impact of our healthcare practices.

Question reference: S6W-16927

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) Circularity Scotland will receive a share of the packaging recovery note value of any packaging waste collected by Biffa under the proposed Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-17315

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when a public awareness campaign will be launched to inform consumers of the forthcoming Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-17387

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission's Report on the use of handheld remote-controlled training devices (e-collars) in dog training.

Question reference: S6W-16913

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to address littering.

Last year the Scottish Government consulted on proposals for a National Litter and Flytipping Strategy. The consultation included proposals to encourage behaviour change, improve infrastructure and services and strengthen enforcement, including a review of the current enforcement model. A final strategy will be published this year.

In addition, we are supporting local authorities to prepare for the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme next year, which will help to reduce the amount of waste, including litter, that local authorities have to handle, reducing the £36 million of public money spent annually on associated litter clean-up costs.

We will also be taking forward action to strengthen enforcement through the planned Circular Economy Bill this year.

Question reference: S6W-17316

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on constructing sorting and bulking centres for the Deposit Return Scheme, and when each facility is projected to be operational.

Question reference: S6W-17190

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact of the Deposit Return Scheme on the packaging recovery note system.

The Scottish Government is clear that deposit return schemes (DRS) are a form of extended producer responsibility (EPR). Therefore, producers will not have to purchase Packaging Waste Recycling Notes (PRNs) or Packaging Waste Export Recycling Notes (PERNs), or pay producer fees under packaging EPR once that is operational, for containers collected through our DRS. We are working with the other UK administrations to legislate to give effect to this position.